Bungie is nerfing two of Destiny 2’s strongest Crucible weapons

Luna’s Howl and Not Forgotten are two of Destiny 2’s most powerful weapons in competitive multiplayer. They’ve dominated the hand cannon landscape since Bungie added them in September of last year, with the release of the Forsaken expansion.

After over six months of dominance, Bungie is rebalancing both weapons next season. The studio detailed the changes in its latest blog post.

Luna’s Howl and Not Forgotten are currently 180 round per minute (RPM) hand cannons. Securing two headshots activates a perk they both share: Magnificent Howl. The perk drastically increases the damage of the next shot, and guarantees a kill in three headshots — much quicker than similar weapons.

To reduce their effectiveness, Bungie will decrease the RPM for both guns. When Destiny 2: Season of Opulence goes live in June, both weapons will fall into the 150 RPM category. Magnificent Howl will also only increase body shot damage instead of headshot damage.

To make sure these weapons don’t fall out completely, they’ll be able to kill a Guardian in two headshots and a single bodyshot — where other 150 RPM hand cannons take three headshots to kill.

Both of these guns take significant investment to acquire. Luna’s Howl is a reward from a long quest and climbing part of the competitive Crucible ladder. Not Forgotten is a copy of Luna’s Howl with better stats, and is the reward for reaching the top of the Crucible ranking.

The Destiny community has already started reacting to the announcement. Most of the feedback is negative, despite the community’s love for other 150 RPM hand cannons like the Midnight Coup. Many fans are crying that the nerf is too strong, especially considering the effort required to unlock these weapons.

Bungie is actively collecting feedback on the planned changes, but it’s unclear if they’ll walk any of these nerfs back before the Season of Opulence. The studio will release Season of Opulence sometime in June of this year, leaving players a little over a month to play with the un-nerfed hand cannons.